


Faking It

by suzvoy



Category: Smallville
Genre: First Time, Futurefic, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-12-19
Updated: 2004-12-19
Packaged: 2017-11-01 06:19:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/353032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suzvoy/pseuds/suzvoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's just as well they're best friends, really.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Faking It

## Faking It

by Suz

<http://sjhw.net/suzvoy/svfic.html>

* * *

This is for tamalinn, who asked for cliche fic on her Christmas Wishlist, especially the kind where Clark and Lex are pretending to be gay. Shame ;) It's also for ilovedoyle, who wanted Clex fic. Merry Christmas! 

Feedback would rock! Nel rocks, too. {{snuggle}} 

Digitalwave made a cover for this fic! Thank you so much! It's fabulous, and you can see it here: <http://sjhw.net/suzvoy/svfics/fakingcover.jpg>

Future fic, spoilers up to 'Spell'. 

* * *

It wasn't his fault, Clark whimpered mentally. It really wasn't his fault at all that he didn't find her attractive. It wasn't as if he was lying to her, had ever lied to her - well, aside from the occasional vanishing act to help people and on one particularly strange afternoon, a dog stuck up a tree - he'd always made it clear that they were friends. 

Just friends. 

Nothing else. 

At all. 

She was pouting now. "I...I thought you liked me, Clark." 

Clark wondered in which past alien life he'd done _anything_ to deserve this. Maybe he'd actually been responsible for blowing Krypton up. "I _do_ like you, Rebecca. I like you a lot." 

"Then I don't understand," she replied, eyes deep and reflecting with unshed tears, "if you like me then why don't you want to date me?" 

The response was obvious. He liked her, but he didn't like her _that way_. She was pretty, and blonde, and from what he'd heard apparently capable of all kinds of things with her mouth, but...she just didn't do anything for him. 

Sitting across from her in a coffee shop just outside campus, Clark tried to smile reassuringly, but he had a feeling it came out more like a grimace. 

Okay, okay. He could do this. He'd had to get used to it with Chloe a few times, and though it had always been awkward, he'd managed to get the point across eventually. 

'You're very special, Rebecca, but I just don't see you that way.' 

'You're a great friend, Rebecca.' 

'I'm sorry, Rebecca, I just don't feel the same way.' 

Right. Yes. He could do this. 

Impossibly long eyelashes dipped in sorrow as she blinked slowly. "Clark?" 

"I'm gay!" 

Shit. 

* * *

"It's not my fault," Clark whimpered down the phone. 

Pete, apparently, couldn't care less. In fact he couldn't stop laughing. It'd been at least thirty seconds since he'd last managed to create a coherent sentence, and since then there'd been lots of "Clark-" "You-" "She-" and then, eventually, there came, "Man, you're a dork." 

"It's not my fault!" He repeated. "I didn't ask her to find me attractive!" 

"Oh yeah," Pete retorted into his ear, "having to live with being hit on by a hot girl. I don't know how you put up with it, Kent." 

There were times when Clark was really, really glad Pete had moved away. Of course he later felt so guilty about it that he deliberately went out to help little old ladies cross the street. "Some friend you are." 

"Look, Clark, you know I care about you, but it's no one else's fault but your own. And I know that with you being, you know, _you_ ," he paused deliberately, "you've had to lie a lot, but did you really have to tell her you were gay?" 

"I didn't want to hurt her feelings," he mumbled, feeling and sounding feeble. What'd happened to that alien who'd been sent to conquer Earth? 

Quite obviously, he hadn't been sent to conquer women. There was a difference. A big one. 

"So you figured lying to her was better?" Pete chuckled. "Wouldn't wanna be you, man." 

Clark didn't want to be Clark either. Especially in three days time. "So, Pete..." Clark cleared this throat. 

"No." 

He blinked. "I didn't even say anything." 

"I know that tone, my friend. I will not pretend to be your boyfriend." 

Crap. "It's for her birthday on Friday, I kind of promised I'd go and introduce you. Er...him. It's only one night," Clark pleaded, trying to make it sound attractive, "I'll run over to New York and bring you here myself." 

"Sure," Pete snorted, "because holding me in your arms all that way is gonna make me seem even _less_ gay. I love you, guy, but not that much. Find someone else." He paused, then sighed. "Why don't you ask Lex?" 

Uh huh, right. " _Lex_?" 

"Sure. He's a guy. You said he's not seeing anyone at the moment. I know there's no love lost between me and him, but if you're really serious about needing help..." 

"I can't ask Lex." 

"Why not?" 

"Because it's...Lex." 

Pete laughed. "Think about it, Clark. You know all the things they said about him in the papers when he was younger. If even half of them are true, he's the last person who'd freak out at the idea of pretending to be with you. Hell, he's always been obsessed with you anyway..." 

"Pete..." Clark warned. Though Lex had long since proven himself and Clark was convinced that any investigation was dead and buried, some of Pete's old instincts still held firm. 

"I know, I know. I'm just teasing. Promise." 

Clark could picture him drawing a cross over his heart with his free hand. "Uh huh." 

"Seriously, man, if it's not gonna be me and it's not gonna be Lex, who else is gonna do it? Shit, is that the time? I gotta go. Coursework waits for no man, even if he is Pete Ross." 

Smiling to himself, Clark nodded. "Sure, Pete. Talk to you soon." 

"You too, man. Lemme know when you and Luthor are getting hitched." He cackled, once, but before Clark could say anything at all, Pete had hung up. 

Snapping his mouth shut, Clark hung up the phone and sprawled back onto the bed in his dorm room. Despite his teasing, Pete did have a point - Lex made the most sense all around. Clark had certainly made friends since coming to College, but none that he felt close enough to or comfortable enough with to ask for this kind of favour. 

Pushing himself off up his bed, Clark started searching for his sneakers. He'd go see Lex, ask his opinion. It wouldn't be so bad, really. And though Lex would tease him about it, at least he wouldn't be as unbearable as Clark knew Pete would have been. 

Besides, he had another reason for wanting to go over to Lex's place, a reason to do with three little words: 

Home entertainment system. 

* * *

A few minutes later Clark zipped out of superspeed in an alley not far from Lex's penthouse. With his new but still much the same duffel bag slung over his shoulder, he walked the few hundred feet to the building. 

George was on the door, as always. "Hey, George," 

He inclined his head, smiling. "Mr Kent." 

The first time Clark had come here - even with Lex - he'd felt so incredibly out of his league. He pretty much still did now, but although George hadn't progressed to his first name no matter how much Clark insisted, at least he was smiling. 

Waving to Adam and Steve at the security desk as he passed, Clark pressed the button for the elevator and discussed J Lo's new album with them as he waited. Eventually he said goodbye, stepped into the elevator, and headed to the top floor. 

Stepping out the elevator, Clark pulled the key-card out of his back pocket and swiped it through the card reader on the door to Lex's penthouse. Shouldering open the door, he barely took a step inside before entering the code on the keypad on the wall that made sure the alarm wouldn't go off. 

Hitting enter he moved all the way inside, letting the door click shut behind him and heading straight for the kitchen. It was getting dark out, so Clark flicked lights on as he went, eventually dumping his bag on one of the kitchen counters. 

Making a beeline for the fridge, he swung the door open, bent over slightly, then frowned when he saw a sheet of paper inside covered with Lex's familiar scrawl. Grasping the paper, he read it as he slowly stood up. 

'Try not to eat too much (I realise that's a little like asking Bart Simpson not to say, "Eat my shorts.")' 

Lex was trying to be hip with popular culture again. Clark was gonna have to tease him later on about how cute that was. 

'We're ordering in tonight. Hope school was good. 

LL 

P.S. Finish your essay.' 

Mock-pouting at the last part of the message, Clark ignored it deliberately and placed the sheet of paper on the counter next to his bag. Reaching into the fridge he pulled out the bottle of apple juice. Closing the door with his hip, he reached into one of the overhead cupboards and took out a glass, opening the bottle and pouring himself a drink. 

Sipping at the apple juice, Clark placed the bottle back in the fridge before locating the bag of potato chips Lex always tried - and failed - to hide. 

A few moments later he was in the living room, drink and chips on the table, fingers running over the spines of Lex's huge DVD collection. Eventually deciding on one, Clark pulled the case out, put the DVD in the player, and collected together the geeky amount of remote controls needed to operate everything. 

Tugging off his shoes he fell back onto the sofa, munched happily on a mouthful of chips, and got ready to enjoy ninety or so minutes of Angelina Jolie jiggling around a lot. 

He was asleep within fifteen minutes. 

* * *

Something warm was pressing against him. Barely conscious, Clark snuggled towards the warmth instinctively, letting out a content sigh. Sleep was gooooooood. 

"So, Clark Kent is a cuddler. I suppose I should have known." 

Clark's eyes snapped open. Realising he was lying on his side, stretched out along the length of the sofa, he shifted. The warmth was coming from Lex, who'd sat on the edge of the sofa to look down at him, and it was Lex he was currently groping. He yanked his hands away. "Lex!" 

Lex smiled warmly, but didn't move away. "Tough day, Sleeping Beauty?" 

Rolling his eyes at the teasing, Clark moved further until he was sitting up with his feet pressed into the sofa cushions. "Kinda, actually." 

Shifting a little further back, Lex frowned. "Well, let me get a little more comfortable and then we can talk about it." As he spoke, his hands went up to the tie he was wearing and started loosening it. 

"What time is it?" Clark asked, deciding that there was nothing at all fascinating about Lex's neck, not even when he'd pulled the tie free and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt. 

"A little after eight," Lex replied. "Meeting ran later than I expected." He'd obviously removed his suit jacket before sitting down, so now his hands moved immediately to his cufflinks. 

Nope. Nothing fascinating about Lex wrists, either. 

"So what are we having for dinner?" Clark asked, hoping his voice wasn't as high as he thought it was and wondering if Lex was going to strip completely naked in front of him. 

Lex's lips quirked up. "I've already ordered. You'll see. Be back in a moment." He stood, holding his cufflinks in one hand, picking up the tie he'd left across his lap with the other, and walked out of the room. 

Clark took the opportunity to panic, and buried his head in his hands. He'd managed to convince himself that this was a good idea, but now with the Lex neck and the Lex wrists, it was like his brain was trying to tell him that he may, possibly, kind of, may actually be- 

"You okay?" 

Clark pulled his hands away and lifted his head. "Fine!" 

Except he wasn't fine. He was about as far from fine as Lex was from ugly, because Lex was standing there all...Lex-like. Sleeves of his shirt now rolled up, hands slung into his pockets, top shirt buttons still undone and, perhaps worst of all, _naked Lex feet_. 

It really wasn't fair that he could even make _feet_ sexy. The statistical probability of that happening was probably something Lex would enjoy discussing, but then Clark would have to openly admit he was attracted to his best friend and... 

"Clark?" A concerned Lex was next to him, touching his shoulder. "Clark?" 

"A girl asked me out today," Clark blurted. 

Frowning, Lex pulled his hand away and sat next to Clark's feet on the sofa. "In my experience that's generally a good thing, yet your reaction would seem to suggest anything but." 

"I don't like her," Clark continued quickly. "Not like that." 

Comprehension lit Lex's features. "And you found it difficult telling her that." 

That was one way of putting it. "I told her I was seeing someone. And that I'd bring that someone to her birthday party on Friday." A guy. Why had he said a guy? "I was just...hoping you might be able to-" 

Lex held up his hand. "Say no more, Clark. I know some excellent escort services that-" 

"Lex," Clark interrupted, licking his lips, staring down at his knees, "I told her I was dating a guy." He didn't look up. He couldn't. "It just seemed the nicest way of doing it." 

"Well," Lex replied after barely a pause, which should have made Clark feel better, "that doesn't change anything. Escort services provide for-" 

" _Lex_ ," Clark finally looked up, seeing Lex's face and the confusion there. There was no way he was going with someone from an escort service. Everyone would _know_ , he was sure of it. "I know this is a _huge_ imposition, and I completely understand if you say no, but I was actually kind of hoping that maybe...uh...you'd pretend to be..." 

The eyebrow's on Lex's face went so high that they would have met his hairline, if he'd had one. "Clark, are you asking me to pretend to be your lover?" 

God. Somehow, there was a huge difference between 'boyfriend' and 'lover'. Or at least there was when Lex said it. 

"I guess...yes. I am." It was out, it was said. He'd asked. Go him. 

Lex studied him for a few moments, and eventually his eyebrows lowered. "I'm happy to help you out, Clark, but at some point you're really going to have to learn to say no to all these women who keep throwing themselves at you." His expression softened as he spoke, slowly morphing into a smirk. 

"Yeah, yeah," Clark grinned, finally starting to feel relieved. "I know. My life is so hard." Okay, this was okay. He had a date for the party, and though he may or may not have found Lex attractive, even if he _did_ there was no way on Earth he'd ever have the guts to do anything about it. Ergo, Lex would never find out. 

So, he was going to make Rebecca feel better about herself, and Lex was never going to discover that Clark had been lusting after him lately like a dog with his tongue hanging out. Life was good. "Thank you _so_ much, Lex." Life was great, in fact. 

"I do, of course, have some terms and conditions." 

Life sucked. Clark prayed his voice wasn't about to break. "Oh?" 

Placing a hand on one of Clark's calves, Lex squeezed gently. Clark jumped, but Lex didn't let go. "I want you to give this a great deal of thought, Clark - we still have a few days until Friday. You need to be sure it's something you're really comfortable with. You're not exactly a good liar," he grinned, "and if you're going to flinch or tense up every time I touch you, this'll be over before it begins." 

Touching? There was going to be touching? _Lex_ touching? "You'll be touching me?" And wow, could he sound any more like a geek? He might as well join a calculus club. 

Lex didn't seem fazed, but of course he was Lex. Full on making out with someone he wasn't attracted to probably wouldn't faze him, either. "It's what I'd do if we were really lovers. I'm not particular demonstrative," he conceded, "but there will certainly be times when I'll want to show that you're mine. And you want it to be authentic, I take it." 

Oh _hell_ yeah. "Sure. Maybe..." His mouth seemed to have a mind of its own, although it definitely wasn't the first part of his body he could say that about. "Maybe I just need to get used to it. The touching, I mean. Maybe," his mouth was going to kill him; "we should practise." 

His friend didn't even pause to think it over. "That's a good point, actually. I mean we do touch occasionally, but we're not particularly..." 

"Touchy feely?" Clark offered, wanting to at least feel useful. 

"Touchy feely," Lex repeated, amused. "Yes. If we want this to look good, I suppose both of us will have to become used to touching each other like that." Boy, did that create some images in Clark's head. "Come on," Lex said, as if he'd made a decision, "put your feet down and move up here." Shifting along the sofa a little, Lex patted the space next to him. 

Right. 

Somehow he was moving. 

"It's just a matter of us becoming comfortable with being close to each other," Lex was saying, but Clark wasn't actually sure his brain was deciphering any of it. "It's something we need to get used to." 

"Um," Clark replied, sitting the right way on the sofa now, but still several inches away from Lex. "Okay." 

Lex sighed. "Clark, I do not have herpes." 

Recognising the word `herpes', at least, Clark got the hint and shifted closer. 

Then closer. 

Closer still. 

Until their sides were touching. 

Well, this wasn't too bad. There was warmth at least, and warmth was good. And it wasn't as if Lex felt bad to lean against. Yeah, he could do this. 

"If I stuck you with a pin right now you'd probably pop." 

"Excuse me?" 

Lex chuckled. "Clark, you're so tense I could probably use you as an ironing board. Relax. I'm not about to jump you, okay?" 

Though part of him wailed internally at the words, another part felt relieved. Exhaling heavily, Clark let his body lean back and forced himself to relax. 

"Much better," Lex said, then ruined it all by saying, "I did say _terms and conditions_ , by the way. Indicating more than one." Leaning closer still, Lex moved his mouth to Clark's ear. "Guess what it is, Clark." 

Clark's dick, for its part, had just discovered that Clark's ear was an erogenous zone, and was very, very happy about that fact. "No idea," Clark ground out, praying the end of his t-shirt kept his condition hidden no matter how happy his dick was. 

Lex's breath was hot against his skin. "Clark, I want you to..." 

There was a very real possibility he was about to come in his pants. 

"...finish your essay before Friday evening." 

Thankfully, that stopped it from happening. 

"Lex!" Clark yelled, turning slightly to whack him - but being careful not to do any actual damage. 

Laughing, Lex feinted away and reached for one of the remote controls, before leaning back to press fully against Clark. "Come on, let's see what was so fascinating about Tomb Raider that made you fall asleep." 

It was a little - okay, a lot - weird for a while, but discussing Angelina's assets at length helped, and by the time the food arrived Clark felt almost like his normal self. As normal as he ever got, anyway. 

Pausing the movie, they eagerly got started on the pizza (Lex must have had a good day at work to order one), and though they were still touching more than usual they quickly fell into the familiar routine of telling each other about their day. Clark told Lex about the conversation with Rebecca in detail (Lex had made no guarantees that he wouldn't laugh, and in the end he had for quite some time), and Lex told Clark about the man in his meeting who wore a really bad toupee ("You'd think he'd take a lead from my example."). 

By the time Clark announced that he'd better head back to the dorm, it felt like every other evening he'd spent at Lex's. 

"Wait, wait," Lex said, walking after him. "I have to see you to the door." He smirked. 

Clark rolled his eyes, pleased and somewhat amazed that they were joking about it already. "You are having way too much fun with this." 

"Maybe," Lex shrugged, smiling. Reaching the door, he made a point of opening it for Clark before looking up at him. "Goodnight, sweetheart. See you tomorrow." He was grinning broadly, a vivid reminder of exactly why he should never have MSG's. 

And really, it was _cute_ that Lex was having so much fun with it, so Clark decided he didn't mind. "You too, honeybun." 

Clark made it an entire step outside of the door before there was a hand on his arm, tugging him back round. 

"No one calls me honeybun and gets away unpunished," Lex murmured, and then he was pulling Clark closer, pressing a firm kiss to his left cheek, and slamming the door shut. 

As he stumbled blankly towards the elevator, Clark wondered if running at superspeed with a hard on would create drag issues. 

Lex would probably know, but then Clark would have to explain about the whole alien thing and then the whole hard on thing and...oh yeah. He had to actually _press_ the button for the elevator to arrive. 

* * *

Friday dawned the same as any other day, except for the words that ran through Clark's mind the moment he woke up: 

He was going to be Lex Luthor's boyfriend tonight. 

It was just one night - they'd already discussed the fact that Lex would stay out of view afterwards until Clark announced their 'break up' - but the fact remained the same. Tonight, he was going to be Lex Luthor's boyfriend. 

He had no idea what to wear. 

So Clark did the only thing he could. 

He e-mailed Chloe. 

'Chloe, 

This is going to sound really stupid, but I have a fake-date with Lex tonight and I can't decide what to wear. Can you help? 

Love, 

CK' 

* 

'Clark, 

What the hell is a fake-date? 

Chloe' 

* 

'Chloe, 

Well, I kind of told this girl I was gay so she'd leave me alone, and then the next thing you know...' 

* 

'...suddenly you're Lex Luthor's latest boy toy? I knew I should have gone to Met U! 

Hey, you around right now? Load up AIM.' 

Dutifully turning on the program, Clark was immediately pinged by his friend. 

rportergal: k, explain to me this fake-date thing 

Resigning himself to his fate - and really, he'd brought this on himself by asking for her advice in the first place - Clark started typing, creatively leaving out the whole touchy feely thing. 

Chloe interrupted occasionally to get him to clarify something, but mostly she just let him type out exactly how he'd ended up in this completely ridiculous situation. 

rportergal: Clark?  
whoamI: Yeah?  
rportergal: You're a dork  
whoamI: sigh. I know  
rportergal: Good thing I love you, dork boy. Here's my advice: rportergal: no plaid  
rportergal: no flannel  
rportergal: no bright colours  
rportergal: in fact, wear anything dark. You have anything black with you? whoamI: Think I have a t-shirt somewhere rportergal: Good. Wear it. What about pants? Jeans? whoamI: I have those black dress pants Mom made me bring rportergal: Excellent! :D There's your outfit! It's really not that hard whoamI: I've heard the story of the tragic death of my fashion sense a few too many times from you already rportergal: LOL! k, I need to get going, and you should too. Hope it's fun tonight whoamI: Thanks Chloe :)  
rportergal: You bet! And Clark?  
whoamI: Yeah?  
rportergal: We'll discuss the reason why you want to look good for Lex next time we chat. For now, just enjoy it. See ya! 'rportergal has signed off' 

Clark fully expected the day to drag, but instead it passed in a blur. The only real downside was that he hadn't heard a single thing in any of his classes. He'd long since discovered that he had perfect recall, and if he wanted to he could barely pay attention in class yet still have everything that'd been said firmly in his mind. 

Today there was nothing. 

He probably should have found it more worrying. 

Back in his dorm room Clark was glad - and not for the first time - that he didn't share with anyone. Some days he wouldn't have minded more companionship, but when he gave it some thought that was what the keycard to Lex's place was for anyway. 

In any case, Clark couldn't take the chance that someone would see him floating in his sleep - he still did that, sometimes - and this way there was no one around to witness his current incredibly embarrassing descent into panic. 

He showered, messed with his hair, really didn't like it and showered again. 

Deciding to leave his hair alone this time, Clark changed into the clothes Chloe had suggested and, studying what he could of his reflection in the monitor of his PC (gift from Lex, and Clark suspected the having his own dorm room thing was too), he decided he looked...not entirely dorky. 

Actually thankful that Mom had brow-beaten him into taking his good pants and shoes to college with him, Clark had just finished putting the shoes on when there was a knock at the door. 

He'd completely lost track of time. Glancing at his watch, he immediately realised it was way dorkier than his currently not so dorky self, and quickly slipped it off his wrist and placed it on the computer desk. 

He barely even bothered to think how Lex had got by the security guard, despite the fact that his visits to Clark's dorm were few and far between. Instead he exhaled heavily, forced a smile onto his face and opened the door. 

Lex didn't have a jacket on. 

Lex had his sleeves rolled up. 

And his top two buttons undone. 

It was like he _knew_ precisely what to wear to turn Clark into a big pile of mush. Nonetheless, big piles of mush were still capable of speech, even if they did only contain words of less than two syllables. "Hey. Good to see-" 

There was a point, just between Lex not kissing him and Lex kissing him, when Clark probably should have seen it coming. As it was he just stood there, stunned, for the very brief press of mouth against mouth, and then tried not to look like he'd had a lobotomy when Lex pulled back and smiled. 

"You ready to go?" 

That was when Clark saw Chris. Chris from down the hall who'd just walked past them, and was no doubt the reason for the kiss. 

Authenticity. 

Of course. 

"I'm ready." 

He felt anything but. 

Lex made small talk as they left the building and headed towards wherever he'd parked the car, making general enquiries about Clark's day. 

Clark was too lost in his own head to comment much, and was consequently caught completely off guard when Lex suddenly stopped walking and turned towards him. 

"All right, what's wrong?" 

Having been brought to a sudden stop, his mind still stuck somewhere around Lex kissed me, Clark stared. "Huh?" 

Reaching out, Lex touched Clark's arm. "I meant what I said the other night, Clark. If you're really not comfortable with this but you're forcing yourself to go through with it under some sense of obligation," he smiled, "it's really not necessary. We don't have to do this. You can say something came up, your boyfriend couldn't make it, and I agreed to accompany you as a friend." 

How weird was it that Lex was the one doing all the reassuring, when it was Clark who'd asked for such a huge favour? Besides... 

"It's not that." Or at least, not really. He may have been nervous, but he had no intention of backing out. "It's just..." Suddenly remembering where they were and that there were, you know, _people_ around to overhear, Clark lowered his voice and stepped closer. "I know we've been getting used to being close to each other these last few nights," and also producing jerk-off fantasies for years, but that wasn't the point, "but after that kiss inside," he was not going to blush. No. The colour on his cheeks was just because it was warm out; "doesn't it seem like we should be used to that too? The...kissing thing?" 

Lex studied him openly. "You want us to practise kissing? Right now?" 

Okay, even Clark couldn't pretend he wasn't blushing now. "No, that's not what I..." Stopping himself, he sighed. "Look, I was just worried it wouldn't look real. Forget I said anything." 

Nodding slowly, Lex was at least acting as if he understood. "I can see your reasoning, but you know, Clark, kissing isn't the only way to show affection for someone." Leaning way into Clark's personal space, the hand still on Clark's arm rubbed up and down to prove his point. "Besides, we've made great progress in the last few days. Even if your friend Rebecca absolutely insists on proof of your sexuality by demanding that we kiss for several minutes with lots of tongue, I'm sure you'll be up for the challenge." 

There was already one part of Clark that was ready to be up for anything. "Ha ha," he managed eventually to Lex's smirk, and then to his relief they were continuing their journey towards the car. 

It was a ten-minute drive to the party. From all accounts Rebecca's parents were pretty rich (Clark suspected the fact that she'd gone to Met U was a form of rebellion) and had hired out an entire restaurant. 

Lex had never been there but had looked up the directions, and as they parked in a nearby parking lot, Clark really hoped the evening was going to go well. 

The walk to the restaurant was made mostly in silence, but just as they were about to go in Clark thought of something. "Hey," he touched Lex's arm slightly, making him stop. 

Lex paused and smiled lightly at him. "Clark?" 

Why hadn't he asked this before? "Are you okay with this? I mean seriously. You've been so good about making me feel better about it, and I just wanted to make sure..." How to say this? "You'd do anything for your friends. I don't want to exploit that." He'd learnt that the hard way. 

Obviously pleased, Lex's smile deepened. "Clark, trust me, okay? I run a multi-billion dollar company. I think I can be sure that Clark Kent isn't persuading me to do something I really don't want to do. Besides," he glanced towards the restaurant; "it's kind of fun." 

Sure it was. "Pretending to be gay?" Was pretending to be gay technically offensive to gay people? He should find out. 

Lex's lips pursed together. "Yes." He rapidly dropped the subject. "And I have one last question for you." 

"I told you," Clark argued, knowing where this was going, "I appreciate the concern but I'm fine with this now. Really. I'm not gonna flip out. I can live with being your boyfriend, lover, whatever." He shrugged. 

"Thank you for making the prospect sound so appealing." 

Oops. He blushed, even if Lex was grinning. "I didn't mean-" 

"Did you finish your essay?" 

He swore Lex's eyes were twinkling. "Yes! I finished it when I got home last night! If you bring that thing up one more time..." They continued walking towards the restaurant. 

"I'm just concerned about your academic career, Clark. I want you to do well." 

"You're a control freak is what it is," Clark pushed open the door, holding it back for Lex. 

"Well, there's also that. Now," he looked around as Clark released the door, taking in the interior of the restaurant, "where's the woman I have to be gay for?" 

"Lex!" 

* * *

Any further bickering was prevented when Rebecca suddenly rushed towards them. 

"Clark!" 

She swooped in for a hug, and though he returned it he tried to give off 'I like you but I'm gay' vibes. Hopefully with Lex standing next to him as 'proof' of his gayness it was working. "Hey, Rebecca. Happy birthday." 

"Thanks, Clark!" She pulled back, and even if he hadn't been able to smell the alcohol on her breath, it was pretty obvious from how much she was grinning that she was already drunk. He wondered briefly if the restaurant knew her actual age, but then if her parents were really that rich it probably didn't matter. "Thank you so much for coming!" She also didn't seem to be upset about anything. At all. "So you must be the love of Clark's life," she said, addressing Lex. 

Lex didn't even hesitate, smiling. "That would be me, yes." He held out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss...? Oof." 

Lex looked really cute being hugged by a drunk twenty year-old. 

Clark couldn't help it. "Want me to leave you two alone?" he asked, only to be given a look over Rebecca's shoulder that clearly said 'leave us alone and I will find new and painfully creative ways of removing your balls'. 

"Tank you fur gomin to my burfday pardy," she said into Lex's neck. 

Still glaring at Clark - who was too busy enjoying himself to intervene - Lex took hold of Rebecca's shoulders and carefully prised her away. "I'm very pleased to be here," Lex stated firmly when she was an arms length away, "any friend of Clark's is a friend of mine." 

"Oh!" She sniffed and tipped her head to one side. "That is so sweet! Hey, come have some chicken!" She was gone just as suddenly as she'd arrived, leaving Lex with his arms still in the air. 

"Well," he murmured as he lowered them, "I can see why you turned her down." 

"She's not normally like _that_ ," Clark chuckled, watching as Lex fussed with his shirt. "You okay?" 

"She did something to my shirt..." He sounded offended. 

Sighing, Clark stepped closer and carefully batted Lex's hands away. "Here," Lifting his own hands, Clark adjusted Lex's collar until it was straight, then pulled at the shirt until it was as immaculate as it'd been earlier. "There you go, Mr Picky." 

Lex ignored him and moved away. "Let's see what there is to eat." 

Shaking his head, Clark watched him go and decided that maybe the evening wouldn't be so bad after all. 

The restaurant had been cleared of most of the tables he would have normally expected to see; instead it was a clear floor with a few chairs here and there. 

The food was on one side of the room, spread across several tables. Rebecca had made it clear it would be what she called finger food, but from what Clark could see it looked like pretty fancy finger food. 

Clark caught up with Lex somewhere around the plate of...actually, he wasn't entirely sure _what_ kind of food that was, and eyed the plate cautiously. "Is that meant for human consumption?" He kept his voice low, not wanting to insult the waiter who was standing nearby. 

"One way to find out," Lex declared, picking up one of the roundish brownish things from the plate and holding it out towards him. 

"How come I have to eat it to find out?" Clark complained. 

"Because I picked it up for _you_ , sweetheart," Lex replied innocently. 

That was it. Clark was hiding Lex's Warrior Angel collection. "It's so sweet that you care, pookie face," he retorted, but let Lex feed him the...whatever it was. 

Of course, shortly after tasting it Clark still had no idea what it was, but it hadn't inspired any retching which could only be a good thing. 

"'s okay," he mumbled around his mouthful, turning to study the crowd of mostly familiar faces milling around. "Now what?" 

"Well, they're your friends," Lex shrugged, "why not go mingle by yourself for a while? I'll stay here and," he leered towards one of the dishes, "keep an eye on the pate." 

Shaking his head at the pate lust, Clark spoke. "You know that stuff's bad for you, right?" 

"Nonsense," Lex scoffed, reaching for a cracker. "Nothing that tastes that good can possibly be bad for you." 

"I'll remind you of that the next time we have pizza," he said, watching as Lex started testing the limits of exactly how much pate a single cracker could hold. Then, simply because it seemed like the thing to do, Clark brushed a kiss on the side of Lex's face. "Come find me later." 

Distracted, still fascinated by pate-on-cracker physics, Lex muttered something that might have been a positive response and Clark went off in search of conversation. 

Unfortunately he found it, and twenty minutes later Clark was desperately wishing Lex would come find him. Like, _now_. 

"You know," Gavin from his Lit class said, "I had a feeling you were gay." 

"Really?" Clark asked, taking a sip from his soda and using the moment to quickly scan what he could see of the room in hope of a saviour. "Why's that?" 

"You were always so secretive about your love life, man. Sure, that doesn't mean you _are_ gay, but I dunno...it was just a feeling I had." 

Maybe it had something to do with Gavin being openly gay, and the fact that Clark was pretty sure Gavin had been checking him out ever since he'd arrived. "I guess when it's true, it's obvious," he said, or something equally lame. 

Oh God, was that a _leer_? Where the hell was Lex?! 

A hand was suddenly pressing on his back, and knowing who it was immediately, Clark relaxed back into the touch. The hand slid down and around his body, until Lex's arm was wrapped around him. 

Thank God. 

"Hey," Lex said, body flush against Clark's. 

"Hey," Clark replied, turning his head to smile and meet Lex's gaze. 

"What are we discussing?" Lex asked, smiling towards Gavin. 

"Gavin here," Clark gestured towards him, "was just saying how flamingly gay I am." 'And I'm really glad you're here,' was silently tacked on. 

"Hmm," Lex mused, studying Clark as his hand rubbed against his side. "Well, he does have a point. No straight man would look as hot in those pants." 

Clark grinned, turning his body further towards Lex. "You're just saying that because you want to get _in_ these pants later tonight." He probably should have wondered at exactly which point he'd stopped freaking out and just started enjoying it, but dammit - this was _fun_. 

"I won't deny that that is in fact my goal for the evening," he 'admitted', "but that doesn't make the you looking incredibly hot any less true." Turning back to look at Gavin, Lex held out the hand he wasn't groping Clark with. "It's nice to meet you, Mr...?" 

"Gavin," Gavin said as he shook the offered hand and looking kind of...resigned? "Just Gavin." 

"I'm Lex. How do you know Clark?" 

Clark liked this. Lex was managing to act possessive without faking raging jealousy. As he talked with Gavin he wasn't conveying "He's mine, hands off!" Instead it was more like "He's taken, and I really think you should leave him alone now." 

If he and Lex were actually a couple. 

Which they weren't. 

At all. 

Not long after, Gavin made his excuses and disappeared towards one of the food tables. Relieved, Clark leant further against Lex. " _Thank_ you." 

"What are boyfriends for?" Lex teased, looking around the room. "Though, you know you have another dilemma now." 

And things had been going so well. "I do?" 

Nodding, Lex kept studying the room. "As far as all of the people you know in college are now aware, you're gay. When you and I break up in a few weeks time, suddenly you're going to be fair game." 

Oh, shit. 

"Which means you'll no longer have to worry about turning down the Rebecca's in your life - instead it'll be the Gavin's." 

Wait, wait. "Lex, it's not like I'm beating them off with a stick." 

Lex snorted. _Lex_ actually _snorted_. "Yeah, that doesn't make any sense to me, either." 

Huh? "Sorry?" 

"The point, Clark, is that because of our little charade, you could eventually find yourself having to rebuff a man instead of a woman. The moment we break up you leave yourself vulnerable." 

The answer to that seemed very, very obvious, but Clark wasn't going to be the one to say it. He'd been right before - Lex really would do anything for his friends, and there was no way Clark was about to ask that much of- 

"Of course, there could be a way around that," Lex continued. 

Clark did not just emit an internal 'Yippee!' "Oh? What's that?" 

"We don't break up," he shrugged absently, frowning as he watched someone attempt to dance without music. "We keep pretending to be a couple until one or both of us meets someone we really want to be with." 

It all sounded so...logical, when Lex put it like that. Or maybe Clark just wanted it to. "Lex, I really don't want to inconvenience you that way. I mean it could be a really long time before one of us meets someone, and I know that you have-" 

"Clark," Lex was definitely looking at him now, "I haven't slept with anyone since a certain one night stand at the opera." 

Gawking, Clark blushed. "Oh." 

Lex shrugged. "Finding a dead body in your bed the morning after kind of kills the urge." 

Clark could understand that. Sort of. 

"And I have been enjoying this," Lex continued. "It's been...nice, having this kind of companionship, real or otherwise." His arm squeezed around Clark. 

Clark liked this idea. Clark definitely liked this idea, and it didn't really seem like it was something Lex was only doing to keep him happy, so... "Okay." It had lots of pros, really. No worry of upsetting or offending people if he had to turn them down - it wasn't his fault, he had a boyfriend! 

And Lex was right about the companionship thing. It was nice touching and just being touched by someone; it didn't really matter who it was. It made him feel...connected. 

Human. 

"Excellent," Lex smiled broadly and squeezed again. "Trust me. If Clark Kent is okay with it, then Lex Luthor definitely is." 

"Oh my God!" A voice yelled from nearby, making them both jump and turn around. 

Rebecca. Crap, how much had she heard? "Rebecca?" 

She ignored him, staring at Lex instead. "You're Lex Luthor? Lex _Luthor_? As in LexCorp?!" 

He didn't even look embarrassed, and quickly covered his surprise. "Yes, that's me." 

"I had no idea! Clark had never mentioned your surname. Though I thought..." Frowning, she eyed him carefully. "I thought you were bald." 

Coughing once, Lex looked up as if he could see his own head. "I am." 

Rebecca stared at his head, still frowning. "Oh." She huffed. "Well, this is just amazing news! Come on," she grabbed his hand and tugged him towards her. "You have to tell me absolutely everything about how you two met, how long you've been together. I love a good romance." 

Lex had lost his grip on Clark's body, but quickly grabbed onto his hand - apparently deciding that if he was going to go through this than Clark would to. 

Laughing, not particularly caring, Clark let himself be dragged away. 

* * *

Okay, this was a problem. 

They'd been at the party for several hours now, and there'd been enough alcohol drunk by enough of Rebecca's friends for certain party games to have started. 

Apparently the term 'party games' gained a different definition somewhere between high school and college, or maybe he was just a big dork who'd never actually participated in any because his parents had always been worried about him accidentally giving something away. 

But he was well over eighteen now. He knew how to control his powers. And even if the games weren't that reckless, really, he still felt a thrill just knowing that he could take part if he wanted to. 

It was his decision. 

But then the kissing started. 

It was quite tame really, especially in comparison to some of the other things he'd already witnessed - established couples showing off their kissing skills and being rated, encouraged; generally teased. Whoever was rated the highest was the winner. 

He and Lex were a couple. 

This could be a problem. 

When Lex excused himself from the group - allegedly to use the bathroom - Clark took the opportunity for what it was. Waiting a few moments longer, he eventually followed after Lex and found him around the corner near the bathroom, out of sight. 

Pushing himself up from where he'd been leaning against the wall, Lex spoke immediately. "Clark, we don't have to do this. It's just a game. We can say we're not comfortable with kissing in public or something and-" 

"I want to." Was that his voice? Apparently so, because the accompanying blush was definitely his. "I mean," Lex looked absolutely _fascinated_ , like Clark was a bug under a microscope, "we've both been touching each other all night." They had, in fact, completely surpassed any expections he'd had about trying to pull this off convincingly. "I don't think they'd buy it. If we don't take part it'll look wrong. Weird. And wrong." His mouth could stop moving any time now. "If you're okay with doing this, I am too." Silence, finally. Thank God. 

Lex's ears were red. Well, the tips of them. "I'm fine with doing this, Clark, but if we do take part in this game..." he didn't move. He didn't move at _all_. "You should know that I don't like losing." 

Apparently they were going to be doing some of that practising thing anyway. Clark nodded. All right. "Kiss me." His mouth was taking charge again. 

Lex didn't question it, didn't even look surprised. He just stepped closer to Clark, said, "Tell me if you want to stop at any time," and pressed their lips together. 

He pulled back almost immediately, obviously trying to gauge the reaction. 

Clark met his gaze and nodded shakily. 

The second kiss was longer, and Clark just kind of stood there and let it happen. Let Lex kiss him. It was different than being kissed by a girl. 

Things suddenly got a whole lot better when Clark started kissing back. Tentative as he tried to get used to the feel of Lex (oh wow, he was kissing Lex), but then his mouth opened up, the kiss deepened, and there was a tongue in his mouth that wasn't his own. 

Breathing heavily through his nose, Clark suddenly had a wall against his back. He didn't particular care how it got there; just that it was, and Lex's hand was on his arm, his skin; then his side, lean fingers tugging at the material of his shirt. 

When Lex started sucking on his tongue, Clark groaned, loudly. His hands were just _hanging_ there, by his sides, and when they finally realised they could be touching Lex they were all over him - shoulders, arms, back, ass, head. When his nails scratched lightly over the bump on the back of Lex's head, Lex gasped and thrust against him and that was definitely an erection and Clark really needed to make Lex sound and move like that again. 

Only Lex had other ideas because he pulled away, making Clark whimper, only to shift until his thigh was pushing between Clark's legs. Which was a really weird thing to do, until he moved and Clark so completely understood. 

Lex moved again, making Clark clutch at him, and then Clark was moving back against him, and _wow_ that was good. And they were really doing this; here in a restaurant, in public, with each other, and Lex wasn't kissing him, wasn't smiling - he was just watching him. Watching him and Clark couldn't look away, Lex wouldn't let him as Clark moved and moved and moved and felt the base of his spine tingle, and "Lex, Lex," and he was staring into his eyes, staring _right_ into his eyes when his whole body shuddered and the world turned white. 

Gasping, breathless like never before, Clark slumped against Lex as a hand gently caressed his head and warm lips kissed the side of his face and quietly calmed him down. 

Oh, wow. 

He was _so_ gay. 

* * *

It was the phone that woke Clark up. 

He was, depressingly, alone in his bed. 

Without Lex. 

Alone. 

After what'd happened in the restaurant last night, he and Lex had made a very quick exit, not caring about Rebecca or the party anymore (and with a strategically placed Lex, they'd both attempted to cover up the state of Clark's pants). 

During the entire drive Clark had just _looked_ at Lex, remembering and kind of in awe. It hadn't struck him as odd that Lex didn't look back at him, that he kept his eyes on the road the entire time until the car stopped. 

When Clark had realised that they weren't at the penthouse. 

That they were, in fact, at Clark's dorm. 

Lex had said something about wanting to be sure that Clark was sure, and if it was going to work then it was worth waiting another day. Clark, too stunned and too new at this to do anything else, had found himself standing on the sidewalk as Lex screeched away. 

Back in the dorm he'd showered, changed, and angsted. Then angsted some more, lying in the darkness of his room, thinking over the evening and every interaction he could remember with Lex since they'd first met. 

Eventually falling into a fitful slumber sometime around 4am, he consequently felt like crap when the phone ripped him out of sleep. 

Flopped out on his front with his head turned to one side, Clark did nothing more than extend an arm to grab the phone. He didn't even open his eyes. "What?" Even as he spoke, he hoped it wasn't Mom. She'd kill him for being rude. 

"Is this Clark Kent?" 

Unfamiliar female voice. Definitely not Mom. Good. "Yeah." 

"From Smallville?" 

Huh. Clark frowned. Shifted slightly. "Yeah..." 

"This is Tina Buss at The Metropolis Star. I was just wondering if you'd like to make a comment about your relationship with Lex Luthor." 

His eyes snapped open. "What?" 

"Is it true that you and Mr Luthor have been involved since you were fifteen?" 

He pushed himself up. "What?!" 

"Are you aware that fifteen is beneath the age of consent, Mr Kent?" 

" _What_?!" 

"Did Mr Luthor take advantage of you?" 

Clark had no idea what the hell was going on, but he'd seen enough TV shows and movies for his brain to spit out what he hoped was the right response: "No comment." 

He hung up. 

The phone rang again. 

Ignoring it, Clark threw aside his covers and started grabbing for clothes. What was going on?! 

He could do this, he could analyse. What'd happened last night that was unusual? 

Clark paused. Pretty much everything. 

That wasn't helping. 

He thought over what the reporter had said as he tugged his jeans on. Fifteen. She'd seriously implied that he and Lex had been together since he was fifteen, which so wasn't true. Clark wasn't sure they were even together now. 

Still, Lex Luthor having a new lover was newsworthy if only because he was rich and people were fascinated by people with money. Clark couldn't imagine it gaining this much attention so quickly, though, so that had to be a result of the age thing. But who knew they'd known each other since he was fifteen? 

Everyone at the party last night. 

Sighing, Clark finished pulling on a shirt and jammed bare feet into his sneakers. Who would have something to gain by doing this? Rebecca? Maybe she'd still been upset at being turned down and was good at hiding it. Or maybe Gavin, and...wow, he was really self-centred. Maybe it had nothing to do with him. 

One thing was certain - he needed to talk to Lex. Reaching for his bag, he pulled at the zipper and fished out the cell phone that only Lex had the number for. As he turned it on, it suddenly occurred to him how many times he'd ignored the blindingly obvious. How many friends bought two cell phones - one for Lex, one for him - with the intent of only using them to call each other? 

When Clark had first received the phone Lex had said it was just an emergency measure, in case something happened, and Clark had just accepted it. Thinking it was a very Lex thing to do, part of his eccentricity. Now he was starting to think otherwise. 

An icon at the top of the screen started flashing the moment the cell powered up - a voicemail message. Clark was about to listen to it when someone knocked on the door. 

The phone by his bed was still ringing, so Clark felt distinctly paranoid and entirely justified in using his x-ray vision. 

Oh, great. _Her_. 

"Go away!" he yelled over the phone. 

She pounded again. "Come on, Smallville! Let me in or I'll tell them all about the time I tied you up and stripped your clothes off!" 

Growling, he yanked open the door with his free hand and glared at her. "That wasn't you." 

"Hey," she shrugged, "who's gonna buy the 'I was possessed by a witch' story?" 

Lois had become only mildly less irritating since he'd started attending Met U. He wasn't entirely sure they were even friends, but right now he really didn't care. "You don't even live in this dorm, Lois. What are you doing here?" 

Ignoring the question - not really a surprise - she brushed by him and walked into the room without waiting for an invite. Which was just as well for her, really, because she wouldn't have been getting one. 

"What," she turned back to look at him, "the hell," waved her hands around, "is going on?" 

Relenting, for now, Clark closed the door and considered hitting the phone with a burst of his heat vision. "In regards to...?" 

She gawked at him, half-grinning. "Well it's the strangest thing, Clark. Last night I hear that Clark Kent - poster boy for the American heartland, and forever truly, madly, deeply, sickingly in love with Lana Lang - has suddenly announced he's gay. And when I go outside this morning, there's a news van stalking your building because - get this - you and Lex Luthor have been bumping uglies since your formative years! What gives?" 

Out of all that, only two words immediately sunk in. "News van?" He hadn't even glanced out of his window since waking up. Clark didn't sleep with the curtains drawn anymore - it always felt like they were in his way, though he wasn't sure why - and he quickly kneeled on his bed and looked out of the window, trying to ignore the constant noise from the phone. 

Holy crap. She was right. 

There was only the one, but that alone was way too many. 

"And this _thing_ is driving me insane!" she yelled, picking the phone up and slamming it back down. Only for it to start ringing again. "Shit." 

Moving off the bed, Clark knew he couldn't delay it any longer. Letting the cell phone fall to the mattress he reached out and grabbed her arm. "Lois, you have to go now." He started walking her towards the door. 

"Hey, watch it!" 

He ignored her as he opened the door. It was a good feeling. "Lex and I haven't been bumping uglies since I was fifteen. Lex and I have never bumped uglies." It was, technically, the truth. "I don't know what's going on, but I'd really appreciate it if you didn't say anything to anyone at all, okay?" 

Depositing her outside his room, he started closing the door. 

"Not to worry," she said, recovering, making him pause, "it's not like I'd want to admit to knowing you, anyway." That was a relief for both of them. "Just one more thing," she held up a hand, moved a little closer to him, and grinned, "I never got an answer on the gay subject." 

Clark slammed the door. 

The phone was bugging the hell out of him now, so he bent over and pulled the phone line out of the wall. Standing back up, he grabbed the cell phone from the bed and called the only number programmed into it. 

His call was answered almost immediately. 

"Clark," 

Yes. He closed his eyes. "Lex." God, he felt better already. "What the hell is going on? I wake up this morning because my phone's ringing, and when I pick it up it's some reporter asking if we've been at it since we met! And when I hang up it _keeps_ ringing and..." He was pacing back and forth in the confined space, babbling, but it was so _good_ knowing Lex was just listening. 

"Clark," Lex interrupted firmly, "I know you're confused, but it's very important that you don't say anything to anyone right now." 

Well, duh. "Geez, Lex, I'm not stupid." 

"I'm sorry, of course not." Lex was almost...flustered. "Clearly we're dealing with some kind of smear campaign for whatever reason - we're trying to find out who's behind it right now. It'd obviously be best for you if you stay out of sight." He paused. "I'm sorry you've been dragged into this. It has all the hallmarks of someone being out to get me." 

Maybe Lex was the paranoid one. "I want to see you." 

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, and when Lex spoke again his voice was quiet. "I'd like that a lot, Clark, but I don't think it's a good idea right now." 

"Lex," Clark pushed his free hand through his hair, "there's a news van outside my building, and I'm here. Alone. I can't just sit here. I want to see you." What he wanted to say was something far more emotional and girly, something about how amazing last night was, about how he'd been thinking so much that he'd barely slept and still didn't really know anything other than the fact that he wanted to be with him. 

Maybe he'd get to that later. 

The silence was longer this time. "Of course, of course. You shouldn't be alone. But if you go outside they're going to hound you, and-" 

"I can get by them." He was fast. He could make it. 

"Be sure, Clark." 

"I am." 

"Be absolutely sure," Lex continued. "A news van has cameras. If they should...get you on film, somehow..." 

It was the closest Lex had ever come to saying exactly what he knew about Clark. 

Closing his eyes, Clark suddenly knew it. _This_ was the moment, the one right here. It wasn't what he'd expected it to be. "I can make it," he repeated, whispering, feeling weaker and stronger than he had in years. "I'm faster than I used to be." 

Lex may have drawn in a sharp breath. 

Lex may have had no reaction at all. 

"There are people outside my building, too." 

"That's okay," opening his eyes, Clark picked up his bag and started shoving things into it, "no one will see me there, either." 

Lex sighed, and Clark could imagine him running a hand over his head. "Be careful. I'll see you soon. I...Clark?" 

He stopped moving. "Yeah?" 

"Thank you." 

Clark had no response that wasn't trite, insignificant, so offered another truth instead. "Lex?" 

"Yes?" 

"I'll see you in thirty seconds." 

* * *

Twenty two seconds later Clark dropped out of superspeed just before leaving the stairs in Lex's building. Letting the door close behind him, he walked normally to the penthouse, dug the keycard out of his jeans and let himself in. The moment he saw Lex he was going to kiss him, or say something about last night, or...or... _something_. He wasn't sure what it was, but there was definitely going to be something happening. 

Except Lex wasn't who he saw when he opened the door. "Kathy." 

Kathy Janeway - Lex's PA and also a woman who hated her name - was standing just outside the kitchen looking over a sheet of paper, lifting her head when she heard her name. "Clark!" Smiling broadly, she stepped towards him as he moved further into the penthouse. "It's good to see you, honey." Her smile faded as she got a good look at him. "Did you have any trouble getting by the press?" 

Shaking his head, he started moving past her. He liked Kathy a lot - she reminded him of his Mom even though she was blonde; Clark suspected the same was true for Lex, that probably being precisely the reason she'd been hired - but she wasn't the one he'd come to see. "I ran. Where is he?" 

"Uh, he's talking to someone right now, Clark." She jogged a few steps behind him. "Why don't you come and have a snack...?" 

Clark only stopped walking when he reached the entrance to the living room. Lex was on the sofa talking to some guy Clark didn't recognise. From what he could see of Lex's face, he didn't look happy. 

"...been warning you that this could become a problem for a long time now, Mr Luthor," the man said. "I've told you before that we should have done something about this." 

"And _I've_ told _you_ before, Michael. I'm not losing Clark's friendship." 

"Sir, you know how it looks. Best friends with a teenage boy from a small town in the middle of nowhere? What else could the two of you possibly have in common?" 

"Michael," Lex was speaking very, very carefully, and the grinding of teeth was audible even without superhearing. "If you ever say anything like that again, if you even imply it, I'll fire you and quite easily make sure that you'll never be able to work anywhere in the Western hemisphere." 

Sighing, the Michael guy - Clark really didn't like him - lowered then shook his head. "And statements like that don't help, Mr Luthor." 

"Jesus, Michael, what do you want me to say?" Wow, Lex seemed really emotional. "He's my best friend - my only real friend. He doesn't care about the money or the name. Of course I don't want to lose him." 

"You won't." 

Clark hadn't been intending to speak just then, but apparently it'd come out anyway. It was only when he felt more than two pairs of eyes focusing on him that he realised there were more people there, on the other side of the room. "Uh, hi." Lawyers, maybe? They were all wearing suits and looked stuffy. 

"Clark," Lex was standing up and walking around the table towards him. For one insane, thrilling moment, Clark seriously thought Lex was going to kiss him right here, in front of everyone. Reality set in just a heartbeat later as Lex stopped walking a couple of feet away. "I'm glad you're here. Did you have any trouble?" He studied him carefully, meaningfully. 

"No," Clark shook his head, and despite the current situation, all he could see in his friend's face was the memory of Lex just _watching_ him last night while he broke apart against the wall. 

Getting a hard on right now probably wasn't a good idea. He made a point of clearing his throat. "No problem." 

Reassured - and looking very much relieved - Lex nodded and opened his mouth again, but was interrupted by Michael. 

"Excuse me, but," Michael got up from the sofa and moved towards them, "how did you get in? I didn't hear the doorbell." 

Still holding onto the keycard, Clark lifted it up and shrugged. 

Michael didn't seem impressed, and showed it both physically and verbally. "Mr Luthor..." 

Lex didn't even turn around. " _Enough_ , Michael." Stepping closer to Clark, Lex touched his arm. "I'm afraid we have to keep working on this, Clark, but you know where everything is. We'll work from here but there's still the television in the bedroom if you want to watch anything." 

Nodding, disappointed but understanding, Clark murmured his agreement and began shuffling away. When he looked back over his shoulder Lex had turned away, and this time all the potential lawyer people were moving to surround him, talking in a language more complicated than Kryptonian. 

Kathy smiled softly when he turned to her, and when he glanced down he finally realised why she was holding that piece of paper. 

It was the note Lex had left in the fridge four days ago. 

* * *

What it came down to - as far as Clark could tell - was that the infomercial was trying to convince bald men to cover up by using a spray can on their head. 

Wasn't that poisonous? Didn't, like, bad, non-healthy things seep through your skin and into your brain? Wouldn't it give you brain cancer? 

Really glad that Lex was completely bald and staying that way, Clark sighed heavily, gave the infomercial the metaphorical finger, and rolled over onto his front. 

On Lex's bed. On Lex's really incredibly comfortable bed. 

He'd been in Lex's bedroom before, lots of times, and had sat on the edge of the bed more than once. But when he'd slept over in the past, it'd always been in the guest room (during those times where they both hadn't fallen asleep on the sofa with the DVD player still running). He'd never actually laid down on Lex's bed before, and now that he had he doubted he was ever going to move again. 

Plus, he was kind of bored. Kathy stuck her head to check on him every now and then, but mostly they just left him to his own devices. He understood that, he did, but he still felt ignored and unimportant. Lex had spoilt him; he was used to being the centre of attention whenever he came over here and Clark had to grow up and realise the real world wasn't just about him. 

With his head turned to one side, Clark had a perfect view of Lex's bedside table. Lex had won all kinds of awards, been given all kinds of statuettes, and they were dotted throughout the penthouse. 'Best Businessman 2004' was on a shelf in his study, 'Excellence in Making the World a Cleaner Place' was near the recycling bins in the kitchen, and 'GQ's Best Dressed Man' (for the third year running) was on top of the TV in the living room. 

But the only thing Lex kept on his bedside table apart from a lamp and his alarm clock was a picture of the two of them taken at Clark's 18th birthday party. 

Clark grinned and told himself to stop being an idiot. 

Deciding that he should at least do something constructive, Clark shifted on the bed and reached for the bag he'd left next to him. Digging out the cell phone he sat up with his back to the wall, and called his parents. He really shouldn't have put it off for this long. 

He wasn't entirely surprised when the number was busy, and trying not to worry too much about reporters bugging his parents, Clark flicked through channels with the remote and kept dialling until he finally got through. 

Mom sounded incredibly weary. "Kent residence." 

He muted the sound on the TV. "Mom?" 

Her voice instantly warmed up. "Clark! Oh, thank heavens! The phone's been ringing all morning but we kept answering hoping it would be you." 

Clark winced. Yeah, he _really_ should have called earlier. "I'm sorry, Mom, I've been so caught up with everything here. Are you and Dad okay? Has there been anyone there?" 

"Not at the moment, thankfully," she sounded relieved. "It's just been the phone for now. Are you...are you and Lex all right, honey?" 

Clark wanted to kiss her. "We're okay. It's kind of mad at the moment. And it's not what you think, Mom. It's not true. He didn't touch me." Not until last night, anyway. 

"Oh I know that, sweetheart," she said quickly. Maybe a little too quickly. "But I can't imagine what this must be like for the two of you. Especially you being under such...scrutiny." 

Well, it wasn't exactly the nicest feeling. "I'm okay, Mom, really. It's not true, so this'll all blow over quickly anyway." 

She sighed. "I hope so, Clark." The fact that she obviously wasn't optimistic didn't cheer him up. Mom had come from Metropolis, after all. There was a creaking noise in the background, and Mom spoke again. "Jonathan? Clark's on the phone. Here." 

He was obviously being passed over, so Clark exhaled and braced himself to face his dad. 

"Son?" 

"Hi, Dad." 

It went better than he expected. He had much the same conversation that he'd just had with Mom, though he did make more of a point about the fact that Lex had never done anything to him. Dad had definitely warmed up to Lex lately (distance probably had something to do with it) but he'd been so antagonistic towards the Luthors for so long that he wasn't going to be perfectly okay with what was going on. 

"Just as long as you're being careful, Clark," he said eventually. 

"I am, Dad, I swear. Do you have a pen? I have a number you can contact me on." Clark didn't actually know the number of the cell phone he was using, but as Dad was getting the pen and paper he found it somewhere in the phone's settings. Lifting it back up to his face, he rattled off the number, promised he'd talk to them soon, and hung up. 

He'd just pressed the button that ended the call when the bedroom door opened and Lex was there. Hanging onto the door handle with one hand, he looked very, very tired. "I am officially taking a break," he announced, before shutting the door and leaning back against it. Lowering his head slightly, he lifted his gaze up and looked at Clark through his eyelashes. 

Clark was suddenly incredibly aware of the fact that this was the first time they'd been alone since last night. 

The hand still holding the cell phone thumped down to his lap. 

Pushing away from the door, Lex eventually paused by the end of the bed and stared at Clark's bare feet. "You don't have any socks on," he said, as if it was worth mentioning. 

Clark vaguely remembered tugging his sneakers off before crawling onto the bed. "Didn't seem important." He was looking at Lex and Lex was looking at him but no one was _doing_ anything and- "Will you just get over here already?" 

Smiling, the first one Clark had seen today, Lex pulled his shoes off and all but melted down onto the bed. Sliding down until he was lying next to him, Clark threw the cell in the general direction of the bag - though he must have missed because he heard the small thump when it hit the floor - and then pulled Lex closer. "How's it going out there?" He was so relieved he could do this. 

Sighing, Lex relaxed with his head on Clark's shoulder. "They all have phones glued to their ears. While it is an admittedly mildly amusing image, it's not what I wanted to see." Shifting slightly, he brought their hands together. "We've released an official statement, but I think I'm going to have to go out there and say something personally." 

"I'm sorry," Clark murmured. "I hope you find out who's behind this." 

Lex nodded. "It's likely to be one of my competitors, but we're going to start going through all the people who were at the party last night. I know they're your friends, Clark, but-" 

"It's okay," he interrupted, tightening his hand, "I know better than anyone how much people can hide of themselves. If you need any help with investigating them..." 

"Thank you," Lex's voice was soft, almost like it wasn't there. "I'll take you up on that. Later," he finished, closing his eyes and snuggling closer. 

"Later," Clark repeated quietly. "Lex?" 

"Hmmm?" 

"I think I'm gay." He'd actually said it aloud, now. Did that make it real? And why was Lex laughing? 

"I came to that conclusion when _you_ came against my leg." 

Oh. And it was ridiculous that he was blushing. "Okay. Good. That's...good." Taking one last look at their joined hands, Clark closed his eyes. 

He lay there for a while, listening to the sound of their breathing before Lex finally spoke again. 

"Clark?" 

Warm, comfortable..."Mmm?" 

"I'm really glad you are." 

* * *

Clark knew Lex was watching him before he even opened his eyes. He doubted it was the development of a new power - he didn't have spider-sense or anything, didn't _know_ when something was or wasn't going to happen. It was just that he was Clark and Lex was Lex, and even after Lex had dismantled the room and stopped being quite so scary, he was still a little...obsessed. 

And now that Clark had told him at least some form of the truth, he was bound to be even more interested. 

It was a thought that didn't bother Clark at all. Especially given the fact that they were still wrapped around each other. 

Opening his eyes, Clark smiled. "Hey." 

Lex smiled back gently, moving his head slightly. "What are you?" 

Straight to business, then. He wasn't really surprised, and, moving his right hand from where it'd been resting on Lex's side, pointed to the ceiling. 

It didn't take Lex long to get it. "Oh." His eyes widened. " _Oh_. I..." He blinked heavily. "Are there more of you?" 

Clark shook his head, and just as he was about to say something he was on his back and Lex was on top of him and he wasn't really sure how any of it happened. 

"You are never telling _anyone else_ ," Lex insisted, grabbing the sides of his face, and Clark realised that yes - Lex could still be fucking scary when he put his mind to it. "Do you understand me? No one. Else. _Ever_." 

Clark really wanted to have sex right _now_. And Lex didn't seem to be freaking out over the alien thing, so even despite the fact that everyone in the state thought he was gay (which was technically true, but he was always the last one to know these things), that they also thought Lex had been doing illegal things to him since he was a kid and that reporters from newspapers and TV channels were probably going to try and infiltrate their way into every aspect of his life...yep. Clark was feeling pretty damn good. "I don't need to tell anyone else." 

He felt absolutely ecstatic when Lex leant down and he wasn't being kissed so much as he was being marked. He was being claimed; Clark had no doubt as Lex's mouth moved and thrust and tasted, and Clark was okay with that, in fact he was planning on doing much the same in return as his own mouth slid and trapped and flowed. 

_Mine_ , Clark thought, one of his feet hooking over the back Lex's calves. Lex had been his all this time and he just hadn't been aware enough to see it. 

He felt, therefore, monumentally pissed when they were interrupted by someone knocking on the door. Loudly. And repeatedly. 

"Go...way..." Clark mumbled against Lex's mouth but then Lex was gone and...how was that possible? Clark sat up, stunned as he watched Lex walk calmly towards the door. Clark was the one with the strength and speed - Lex wasn't supposed to be able to get away from him. It wasn't _fair_. Especially when his dick really wanted to get some action while there was someone else actually there with it for once. 

But it was Kathy on the other side of the door, and her resemblance to his mother killed his erection stone dead. And - oh yeah. Real life problems in the outside world that he was quite possibly avoiding at the moment. 

"You need to see this," she said and Lex followed her without either one of them looking back into the room. 

Rubbing his hands on his thighs, Clark slid off the bed and followed. Peering around the edge of the entrance to the living room, he could see everyone - six people in all - clustered around the television. Clark had to cheat a bit with his x-ray vision to get a decent view, but he figured it was the audio part of what they were watching that was more important. 

"...and according to sources close to Mr Luthor," a familiar reporter was saying, obviously from outside Lex's building, "Mr Kent has his own pass key to Mr Luthor's apartment, which he visits almost every night." 

Clark's mouth hung open. Not Adam and Steve. He couldn't be just a...story to them. 

"Pure speculation!" Lex was ranting. "They don't _have_ anything!" 

Almost as if she'd heard him, the reporter continued. "Now while this obviously doesn't prove anything, combined with the other rumours that have been released today, it does make for some compelling..." 

Clark tuned her out as he finally realised why he recognised her - she was from one of those entertainment shows. She wasn't a 'real' reporter, she didn't cover any actual news, just famous people's love lives and how much money they spent on their pet chihuahua's. 

He tried to feel better about that. 

"Ben," Lex said carefully. 

"Yes, Mr Luthor?" No doubt one of the lawyer people. 

"We're suing that TV show." 

"Yes, Mr Luthor." 

"Has anything else aired?" 

"Just a few spots on the local news channels; nothing big yet. But the story did only break this morning." Obviously, they were expecting this to get bigger. 

Great. 

"There, uh," Ben hesitated. "There has been public confirmation that you were both at the party last night. As a couple." 

God, this was all Clark's fault. Why couldn't he tell the truth to someone, just once? 

Lex's hand went up to his head, and the huddle broke apart as he paced. "Has security arrived at the Kents yet?" 

"About an hour ago." 

"Good, good." 

Oh, wow. Clark bet Dad just _loved_ that. He was surprised he hadn't had a phone call. Or maybe he had and they'd just slept through it. 

"Good," Lex repeated again, walking further around the room and only stopping when he almost bumped into Clark. He looked surprised to see him, and the hand finally came down. "Clark," he touched Clark's arm, "why don't you go and wait else-" 

"No," Clark said stubbornly, because he knew now what Lex was trying to do. "You can't hide this from me, Lex. You can't protect me." 

"Clark..." 

"This has as much to do with me as it does with you. I want to help. It's my fault." 

Lex looked at him strangely. "How on Earth is it your fault?" 

"If I hadn't asked you to..." Ohhh, they had an audience. How much did they know? Apparently about the 'date' last night, but shutting themselves in the bedroom together probably hadn't been very subtle. "If I hadn't asked you to help me out, none of this would have happened." 

Lex, apparently, didn't agree. "We can't say that for sure, Clark. You've seen some of my life; you know what the business world can be like. Loath as I am to admit it, Michael was right before - there was every chance someone was going to take advantage of our relationship for their own means at some point anyway, whether or not anything ever happened between us. I'm getting far too powerful for my own good. And if you do insist on blaming yourself," he continued, "then I have to be at fault too." 

"Why?" 

"Because I should have known better," he said softly. "Because I should have known that even if this hadn't come out this morning, that we would have drawn attention last night. But you asked me to be your date, and..." He paused, and wore something that looked suspiciously like a blush. 

The business world _sucked_. And much as he wanted to touch Lex right now, he knew the most important thing was to help him save face in front of the others. "I still want to help. The party...you said I could help with the people at the party." 

Apparently relieved, Lex nodded. "You're right, I did." Turning away, Lex brushed by the others until he picked up a pen and piece of paper from the coffee table. There was something printed on one side of the paper, but Lex turned it the other side up. "Here. I want you to write down everything you know about everyone who was at the party last night. Names, ages, families. What classes they're taking, what their hobbies are. Anything else you think might be useful. Okay?" 

"Got it," Clark said, taking the pen and paper before moving into the kitchen. He didn't want to be ignored, but he didn't want to get in the way, either. 

Pulling one of the stools by the breakfast bar out, Clark sat down and started writing. He went with Rebecca first - her party, it made sense - then wrote about the rest of the attendees he knew. He was surprised to realise just how little he knew about some people, and worried that maybe, somehow, none of them were who they seemed to be. 

Okay, that was Lex's paranoia talking. 

He kept writing, and people kept talking in the living room. Quite often a cell phone rang, or someone put the TV on and cursed (never a good thing), but Clark forced himself to just keep his head down and finish the list. 

As it turned out, he never did get to finish it. He was about three-quarters of the way down the page when Kathy appeared from somewhere. 

"How's it going?" 

Clark glanced up. "Okay, I think I'm-" He stopped talking when Kathy's hand suddenly landed on top of the paper. Frowning, he looked up at her. "Kathy?" She didn't look exactly...happy. 

In fact she looked like she was about to frown herself to death. Tugging the paper out of Clark's grasp, she turned it right side up and studied it carefully. "Clark, the first name on here...Rebecca?" 

He nodded, worried. "Yeah?" 

"Rebecca de Villier?" 

"Right." 

"Is that definitely her surname?" 

This could in no way be good. "Yeah..." 

"Okay." Forcing a smile, she patted his hand. "You did great, Clark." And then she ran back to the living room. 

Shaking his head, Clark got up and went after her. This time when he walked in they were all huddled around Lex who was holding the piece of paper, and there were lots of murmurs and more cursing, and Clark couldn't take it anymore. "What? What?!" 

"Rebecca de Villier," Lex sighed, "is the daughter of Charles de Villier. One of only four people in the United States who makes more money than I do. And, who I might add, has been trying to take LexCorp down for the last year." 

Umm. 

Err. 

Ohhhh, shit. 

* * *

Clark tried not to blame himself for all of five seconds before his overriding sense of guilt and responsibility kicked in. This was his fault, all of it. He was quickly forgotten as Lex first talked calmly, then not so calmly to his staff, and Clark just sat in the corner of the room and thought. 

Rebecca was his friend. He should have known. She'd rarely ever talked about her parents, and when she had it was only with oblique references. All that Clark had known was that they had money - and apparently, according to Lex, they had a lot of it. 

God, he was almost starting to understand and sympathise with Lex's perspective. Knowledge really was power. The more you knew the better prepared you were for...well, almost anything. 

He wanted nothing more than to suddenly develop a new power, to take the clock back an hour, just lay in bed with Lex and stay there this time. But he got it now. He understood. Things had to be done. Action had to be taken. 

"How did we not know?" Lex was demanding. "It's not as if she was even using an alias, for God's sake!" 

There were attempts at explanations, but no one stuttered a frightened response. None of Lex's staff would ever stutter in fear, because Lex would only have the best. 

Lex had always wanted the best, and Lex wanted Clark, so in some weird unbelievable way Clark was the best and...he had to do something. Responsibility. 

So Clark stood up, and spoke. "Tell them the truth." The voices around him stopped. There may have been a cricket chirping. "Tell them that we're together," Clark said as Lex approached, trying not to flush at the fact that they weren't alone, "tell them that we're together, but that it's new. As in, last night new. And that nothing happened before that." 

"Clark..." 

"No, Lex. I get it. I know you're still trying to protect me, trying to stop my name from becoming involved, but it's a little late for that." 

Lex fixed him with a steady gaze. "I don't want anyone investigating your past," he said, no doubt well aware that they still had an audience. 

"There's nothing to find," Clark replied, and as far as he was concerned it was the truth. The ship didn't exist anymore, and since Lex had taken over control of LuthorCorp, anything Lionel may have found would have long since been destroyed. Determined, Clark stepped towards him. "We can _do_ this, Lex." 

Lex studied him for a very - incredibly - long time before saying a word. Bastard. "Clark?" 

"Yeah?" 

One side of Lex's mouth moved up into a smirk. "Is this your way of asking if I want to date?" 

There was only one response to that, so Clark hit him on the arm. 

Gently. 

* * *

For reasons completely unknown to Clark, they decided to wait until the next morning before making the announcement. Knowing Lex, Clark couldn't help but wonder if it was just for his sake. Now that it was getting dark out, waiting until tomorrow morning gave him plenty of time to make a phone call. Or more accurately, The Phone Call. 

The one where he called Mom and Dad, told them that it was being announced to the world tomorrow morning that he really was dating Lex Luthor and oh, by the way, he was gay. 

Clark sank his face into this hands. Maybe he wouldn't be freaking out so much if he'd had more time to process all this - it'd been less than 24 hours since he'd even admitted to himself that he liked Lex, and they were together already. But then maybe he shouldn't be too hard on himself. All things considered he didn't seem to be doing too badly. 

All right. Calling Mom and Dad. Telling them about Lex. Maybe let them figure out the gay part themselves? 

God. 

Dread started to trickle down his spine, actually making him shiver as the words ran through his head: what if they didn't love him anymore? 

Stupid, stupid, he was an _alien_ and they still loved him but God, what if...? 

No. Either way, whether they approved or not, they were still his parents and they still had a right to know before it became public. Lowering his hands he picked the phone up from his lap, and was about to dial when he realised he still hadn't listened to the voicemail message Lex had left earlier. Typing in the code that retrieved his messages, he put the phone to his ear. 

He was told the time and date of the call, and as he waited he plucked absently at his jeans with the fingers of his free hand. Then, finally, it was Lex's voice, tinny but familiar. 

"Clark, you have to call me as soon as you get this, okay? Something happened overnight...look, just don't leave your building. Or your room. Don't even get out of bed, and definitely don't pick up your phone. Your other phone. Not this one because obviously you won't get this message and you really need to call me just as soon as you hear...and oh God, I can't delete this, can I? Never mind. It doesn't matter, because last night...God, Clark, you were amazing. Shit, and I just said that on voicemail, didn't I? Listen to me, you have to delete this as soon as you-" 

Lex, evidently, had been cut off, because there was nothing else. 

There was no way in hell Clark was ever deleting it. Hearing Lex sound so _undone_...it was an incredibly rare thing, and Clark's fingers suddenly itched with the need to make him sound that way again. To make him lose it, completely. 

Somehow bolstered by the message, Clark saved it then immediately called his parents. He'd been told that the security that went out to the farm had taken another phone with them, so there shouldn't be any problem with contacting Mom and Dad. Lex really did think of everything. 

"Hello?" 

Clark lifted his head, and his new optimistic mood suddenly shattered. "Dad?" 

"Clark!" 

"Hey, Dad. How are things going there?" He plucked at his jeans again, mind running through scenarios. 'Hey, Dad? I'm gay.' 'Dad? I like dick.' 

"As well as can be expected," he grumbled. "We've had a few reporters arrive, but Lex's security are actually proving useful. There's a blond woman here who keeps throwing a knife at the barn and hitting the same spot everytime. I complained at first, but it's scaring the reporters." He actually chuckled. "I think I like her." 

"Good." Dad was in a good mood. While that was better than he'd expected, Clark still didn't want to take any chances. "Is Mom around?" 

"She's in the shower at the moment, son." 

Clearly, fate was laughing down its nose at him. Fine. "I need to tell you something, Dad." 

Obviously recognising the tone, Dad's own voice grew more serious. "What is it, Clark? Is everything okay?" 

"Everything's fine," Clark assured him, "really." Okay, he had to stop plucking or he was going to punch a hole in his jeans. "It's just that there's going to be an announcement tomorrow morning and I wanted to let you know-" 

"Announcement?" Dad's tone became suspicious. "What kind?" 

Closing his eyes, Clark took in a deep breath, and said it. "That Lex and I are in a relationship. A romantic one. That we're seeing each other. Romantically. But that it's only just started, like literally just last night, see we were at this party..." Bad, bad idea. "...we just figured that if we show how much we care about each other - as well as tell the truth - it'll help dispel all these stupid stories about him taking advantage of me, because the really funny thing is," he laughed, definitely hysterical, "I'm the one who asked _him_ out!" 

Breathing shouldn't have been this hard to do. Breathing should have been normal, instinctive - autonomic, according to some ancient Biology lesson - but Clark had to focus on every single breath, had to make himself breathe as he waited and waited and waited. "Dad?" _Please_. 

In retrospect, he should have actually expected the eventual response. 

**"MARTHA!"**

Clark dropped the phone, but quickly picked it back up. It was at times like these that his hearing came in handy. Focusing on the phone, he was definitely hearing Dad running up the stairs, cursing all the way. Then a door opening and...yeah, that was definitely running water. Oh God. 

"Martha!" 

"Jonathan?!" 

Oh God, Dad was pulling Mom out of the shower. 

"Martha, your son has gone _insane_!" 

"My son? Why is he suddenly _my_ son? And for goodness sake, you're getting drenched. Pass me a towel." 

The running water stopped, and Clark had the very bizarre mental image of Mom, naked (he wrinkled his nose at that), bossing Dad around as she wrapped the towel around herself. 

"Now," she said calmly, "what on Earth is going on?" 

"Let your _son_ ," Clark could just imagine Dad holding the phone out to Mom, "explain it to you. I'm going to see a woman about throwing knives at barns." 

Dad clumped away, then, and a familiar warm voice spoke over the telephone. "Clark?" 

"Hi, Mom." Thank God. 

He knew he'd been overreacting. Mom was fine. Surprised, but not entirely - which probably said a lot - and Dad even came back to sort of apologise and said three times (just in case Clark missed it) that it was "a hell of a surprise." 

Sure, Clark knew he was getting off easy right now, but at the moment he'd take whatever he could get. 

Afterwards he was ravenous, and it was only when he'd nearly taken Lex's kitchen apart with his bare hands that he realised he hadn't eaten anything all day. Eating one sandwich immediately, he walked around the penthouse holding the other, and found himself standing at the entrance to the guest room. He knew he'd be staying over tonight; no one had said anything, it'd just been automatically assumed. 

Finishing the second sandwich, he drank it down with a glass of milk back in the kitchen, before moving to Lex's room. Digging out the night clothes he'd slung into his bag, Clark got changed and started washing up in the bathroom. After that he walked to the living room - very obviously in his night clothes - and announced his intention to sleep. 

Everyone mumbled a goodnight. 

Clark threw up his hands and went to sleep in Lex's bed. 

Or at least attempted to. Because no matter how long he lay there, it didn't seem like Lex was _ever_ coming to join him, and sleeping in Lex's bed without Lex in it - no matter how good it felt or smelt - was so completely wrong. 

He eventually managed to doze off for a while, but the whole time some part of his brain was waiting for some sign of movement, for some sign that Lex was actually going to sleep soon. The next time he felt awake enough to move, Clark had had enough. Stumbling out of bed, he padded into the living room and God, they were all still _there_ , on laptops or phones but Clark didn't care about any of them except, "Lex." 

Lifting his head from the newspapers he was looking at, Lex frowned. "Everything all right, Clark?" 

"No," Clark walked towards him, "you need to sleep." 

"I assure you, Clark, I'm quite capable of staying up past midnight." 

Clark didn't even care that they weren't alone anymore. "Not when you're supposed to be sleeping with me tonight." Of course, it was only when the words were out that he realised exactly how they sounded. He really wasn't expecting sex tonight, not after everything, and they were both tired. He just...wanted Lex. To be with him. 

It was Kathy of all people who recovered first. "You bring up a very good point, Clark, and I'm sure Lex would like to help you with that. Wouldn't you agree, gentlemen?" 

The lawyers all nodded and murmured their agreement. 

Lex was _so_ firing Kathy tomorrow. But that was okay; Clark would make sure he'd hire her back. 

And he was grabbing Lex's wrist then, pulling him into the bedroom. Watching (maybe a little too much) as Lex got changed, standing over him when he brushed his teeth, and smiling when Lex said wryly, "I hope you're not planning to do this every night," and then finally, thankfully, Lex was turning out the lights and slipping under the covers next to him. 

It was different, and he was gay, and it seemed stupid but that meant lying next to a man instead of a woman. There were still curves to be found, just harder, less defined, and Clark pulled them close and breathed deeply. 

"Lex," he whispered, because the thought had been tugging at his mind all day, "could you get in serious trouble? With the authorities? Or could you lose LexCorp?" Lex without LexCorp was just Lex, and though that was more than enough for Clark he knew how important the accomplishment, the name was to Lex. 

"No, Clark," Lex reassured, a firm hand moving slowly over his back, "I didn't do anything wrong. We didn't do anything wrong. They don't have proof of anything. And even if they did, even if we had done something wrong-" He stopped, suddenly, almost as if surprised. 

Clark shifted, eyes heavy. "Lex?" 

Shushing him, Lex bent his head until they were kissing. Soft, tired strokes, and then both their heads were falling to the pillows. 

Sighing, Clark closed his eyes and held onto the warmth next to him. It was, quite possibly, the most relaxed he'd ever been. 

A lost moment of time later, Lex's voice broke through the night. "I'd choose you. Given the choice between LexCorp and you, I'd choose you." 

Somewhere, trapped in the action of falling asleep, came the moment where Clark realised that Lex was in love with him. 

* * *

It'd been an interesting night's sleep. Clark hadn't shared a bed with anyone in a long time - possibly ever, he couldn't quite remember - because of how different he was, and especially never with anyone he was attracted to. As a result he alternated between waking up to discover he'd stolen all the covers, and realising he'd spread out so much that Lex was in danger of falling off the bed. 

Lex, of course, didn't voice a word of complaint, though Clark knew he would eventually if this kept happening every night. Still, as Lex had been so nice about their first night together, Clark decided he should be rewarded. 

Waiting patiently, Clark watched as Lex slowly began to stir, as he started to wake up, and then he pulled Lex's boxers down and took his dick in his mouth. 

Lex actually whimpering, hardening quickly in Clark's mouth and making him pull back. He took the opportunity to pull Lex's boxers all the way off and then he was back, nuzzling against Lex's groin. He kind of knew the theory - he'd heard and read stuff, and yeah, maybe this being gay thing shouldn't have been as big of a surprise as it was - but it was definitely a lot different in practise. 

That wasn't about to stop him, though, and making sure to smack his lips together loudly, (actually enjoying getting in touch with his inner slut) Clark moved his head and got back to work. 

Keeping his teeth covered was definitely important - especially considering the damage he was capable of - so he gently worked his mouth around Lex's dick. He surprised himself by actually loving the feel, the taste, the strength of it in his mouth. He'd never been sucked off and though it was supposed to feel good, the idea of someone's dick in his mouth hadn't made him hot and horny at night, despite his curiousity. 

It would now. 

Lex's dick was in his mouth and it seemed stupid not to use his tongue while it was right _there_. Pulling back again - God, Lex was beautiful when he groaned - he teased the tip with his tongue and decided he really wouldn't mind doing this, listening to Lex fall apart every day. 

Lex's left leg had shifted, knee bent up over Clark's shoulder, heel digging into Clark's back as Lex silently begged him to take everything, all of it, and God, Clark wanted to. He bent down further, tried to take more and choked, pulling off and coughing. 

Gasping, Lex was murmuring something, hands reaching to pat reassuring at Clark's head. 

No. It wasn't okay. Clark wanted to do this. 

Grabbing Lex's wrists, Clark pinned them either side of his body and bent back down. He licked, sucked, tasted, and then - relax his throat, he had to relax his throat - Lex was just _in_. 

Clark blinked his surprise, trying to adjust to how full he was, then swallowed. 

Lex reared up off the bed, yelling something to do with portfolios, and then his hips were moving, fucking Clark's mouth. Shocked, Clark let go of Lex's wrists and grabbed his hips instead, feeling almost like he was hanging on for the ride. One of Lex's hands was in his hair, the heel on his back digging in harder and harder, and Clark could get off just from this, almost was in fact, drooling hard, lowering his own body a little closer to the bed, and...yeah, yeah, and fuck, Lex was saying something. 

"Up, up," Lex was panting and pulling him off, and Clark didn't understand but went with it, and enjoyed the hell out of himself when he was pushed onto his back and Lex's scrabbling hands were yanking down the jogging bottoms he'd slept in. 

And then, ohhhhhhhh, naked Lex dick rubbing against naked Clark dick, and Lex was braced above him, staring into his eyes again. Lex seriously had a thing for the eye contact and though Clark liked it, it was kinda scary too - he wasn't used to anyone looking at him so intently, never mind mid-sex. 

Clark moaned as Lex rocked relentlessly towards orgasm, and he should have known Lex would be like this, so absolutely determined, and he was close, so close, and Clark didn't know where it came from but his hands were on Lex's bare ass as he thrust up and said, "I want you to fuck me. _Hard_." 

It probably wasn't actually that, probably just came out as mumbling because his voice couldn't be expected to work properly right now, but Lex was stilling, jerking, and Clark came just from watching him shatter. 

There was nothing but heavy breathing when his mind came back to the bed again. Lex was still sprawled on top of him, completely boneless. 

Clark felt decidedly smug. 

Lex moaned quietly, hot breath against Clark's neck; smile forming against the skin. "Oh God, you're a sex fiend." 

Clark wriggled beneath him. "Lucky for you, huh?" 

As it turned out, the shower was even more fun. 

* * *

Clark's good mood lasted until the moment he realised they weren't alone in the penthouse. Stumbling out of the bedroom and laughing at something Lex had said, Clark froze when they passed the living room. 

He'd completely forgotten about them. 

The lawyers were still there. They looked very much like they had the night before, and Clark wondered if they'd slept at all considering how awake they looked. 

"Update?" Lex asked, keeping his hand pressed firmly against Clark's back. Although Clark was freaking inside his head because - geez - they hadn't been quiet at _all_ , he was also ridiculously pleased that Lex wasn't pulling away. 

Michael's head snapped up and he actually smiled, an action Clark would have previously thought impossible, then said the words that took what was left of Clark's good mood and hurled it into the stratosphere. 

"We don't have to make the announcement." What?! "We have something on them." 

Clark just stood there, immobile, as Lex rushed towards the others. They...had something on them? Like what? Something bad? 

"Lex," he was walking towards them, "we don't even know that Rebecca was involved, not really. She could have just said something to her dad when she was drunk. Maybe she didn't realise-" 

"Or maybe she did," Lex cut him off, turning back towards him, "maybe she knew _exactly_ what she was doing. Maybe she'd been a plant all along. Or maybe she decided on a little revenge when you turned her down - I don't care. The point, Clark," Lex was _furious_ , and Clark couldn't believe he hadn't seen it lurking beneath all this time, "is that they can say whatever the hell they want about me, I don't care. But the moment they brought you into it they hung themselves." Then he was gone, pulling away, and it was like he was turning into one of the lawyers as he stood with them. "Show me what you've got. Anything about them should have been air tight if they felt confident enough in doing this." 

So blackmail. Didn't matter how the lawyers justified it, Lex was going to blackmail the de Villiers with whatever it was they'd found. 

He knew Lex wasn't perfect, that he'd done questionable things in the past, but since Lionel had been out of the picture he'd been a lot happier and...less inclined to do those things. The fact that he was going to do so again now, because of Clark, was just _wrong_. 

Retreating to the kitchen, Clark bumped into Kathy and it was only then that he realised she hadn't been in the living room with everyone else. She looked a little worse for wear, and he quickly figured out that she'd probably grabbed a few hours sleep in the guest room. 

Which was right next to Lex's room. 

"Hey, Clark. Everything okay?" 

Not really. "Lex is going to blackmail the de Villiers and make them stop pushing the story because he doesn't like the fact that they got my name in the news like that." 

Kathy didn't even blink. "I need coffee." 

They made food slowly, sat at the breakfast bar together, and ate their cereal in glum silence. From what Clark overheard - which was everything - Charles de Villiers hadn't even realised he'd pissed someone off, and that someone had provided Lex's people with the goods. Whatever they actually were. Clark didn't want to know. 

God, it was just _wrong_. Lex was being protective again and while in some ways it was nice, it had to have its limits. But this was Lex Luthor; he didn't have any limits except the ones he made for himself - which were few and far between. Clark couldn't - didn't want to - be responsible for Lex being like his father again. 

He had to do something. 

Anything. 

"You're Lex's PA." 

Kathy shrugged and leant down closer to her cereal bowl. "At the moment I'm a very tired woman who wishes she'd brought her hair spray along." 

Clark shook his head and leant towards her. "How much power do you actually have?" 

Losing her stoop over the bar, Kathy's face brightened as she sat up and studied him carefully. "Well, that depends on what it is you need." 

"A favour," Clark replied, "a big one." 

* * *

Kathy left about half an hour later, making some excuse that Clark wished he had half the chance of copying. After she went he stood around doing nothing a lot, until he managed to hijack one of the laptops for a few minutes and decided to check his messages. 

There were a lot of e-mails from people he didn't recognise - he was going to have to change his e-mail address - but when he saw one from Chloe he quickly (and somewhat fearfully) clicked on it. 

'Geez, Clark, you never do anything small, do you?' 

He was almost tempted to reply that there was nothing small about the situation whatsoever, and then he was blushing and clicking on the message from Pete. 

'Clark, 

I know I told you to ask Lex, but you really took it to heart, didn't ya? ;) 

There's no way in hell he ever did anything back in Smallville, but if you two really are an 'item', I'm happy for you. Really. If you're not, just ignore this. 

And just don't give me any details, okay? 

Ever.' 

So, he'd checked his messages and responded to none, then lay on Lex's bed trying not to smell sex. Finally, eventually, his cell phone rang. He'd had it in his hand for the last twenty minutes, so he just pressed the button and brought it up to his ear. "Hello?" 

"We're ready to go, Clark." 

He swallowed. "Okay." 

"You don't have to do this, you know. You can still back out." 

He knew that. He knew he could stop at any time. "No," he moved off of the bed, pulling his sneakers on - man, he still didn't have any socks and now they seemed really important. "I have to do this. I'll be there soon." Not brave enough to say anything else just then, Clark hung up. Not needing anything else he put the cell into his right pocket, left the bedroom, and waited near the door that led out of the apartment. He didn't want to draw attention by leaving until it was absolutely necessary. 

Kathy was good. He didn't have to wait long. 

He listened as the general conversation in the living room dropped off, as one by one they focused on the television someone had switched back on a while ago. 

"Somebody turn the sound up!" 

Clark heard the reporter's voice instantly. 

"...official spokesperson for LexCorp has announced a press briefing, due to start just ten minutes from now. As yet we have not been told what to expect, or if Lex Luthor himself will be attending..." 

"Press briefing? What the...Kathy?! Clark?!" 

Clark bolted out the door even as they ran towards it, holding it shut as he used his heat vision on the lock, melting it into a useless mess. He'd apologise to Lex for that later. For now, he just ignored the banging on the door, ran out of the building, and headed for his first ever press briefing. 

* * *

This was the worst. Idea. Ever. 

Clark had had some bad ideas in the past, but this one was a real doozy. Where Lex tended to over-think things, Clark knew his problem was that sometimes he didn't think at all, just jumping in head first with whatever came to mind. 

"You can still back out," Kathy reminded him again, no doubt seeing and recognising the 'Holy shit, what have I _done_?' expression on his face. 

But no, backing out wasn't an option. He had perfectly good reasons for doing this and he was going through with it no matter what. Not only did he want to convince Lex not to blackmail the de Villiers, to show him that they could find another way, he just...wanted to do this. 

God, Clark had been lying his entire life, had been taught to lie since as far back as he could remember, and now he had a truth he could share. He didn't want to hide it, or cover it up, or let someone give it another interpretation. He just wanted to tell the truth. 

"I'm doing this," he replied with a confidence he didn't feel, because although he'd arrived quickly Kathy didn't know just how quickly (he'd found somewhere to hide for almost seven minutes before coming to find her). She had no idea that he could see through the wall to the adjoining room. 

Where there were lots of people. And cameras. 

This was the stupid part of his plan. Clark had a nearly pathological fear of cameras and talking in front of large crowds. Combining both of them? Definitely not his smartest move. He'd barely managed to hold it together for the video letter to Whitney even if it had been years ago, and now he had to face down multiple cameras broadcasting live to God knew how many people's homes. Nice move, Kent. 

"Clark?" 

He jumped. 

Kathy touched his arm gently. "It's time." 

If it was time then they could get started, and then it'd be over soon which was a very good thing. "I'm ready." 

Taking him at his word this time, Kathy nodded and walked towards the door. "Then let's go." 

He walked behind her forcing his legs to move, and then the door was open and lights - cameras - started flashing. Voices called his name instantly, obviously surprised that a) it was him, and b) it was him without Lex. Ignoring his first instinct to bolt, Clark clenched then tried to relax his jaw. He knew how he must have looked - jeans, creased t-shirt, sneakers, no socks - but that was the point. He was Clark Kent, and for once he wasn't hiding. 

Including, apparently, his newly-developed ability to sweat heavily. 

Gratefully taking the seat next to Kathy at the table, he took in the vast array of microphones, then the even vaster array of people and cameras behind them. 

_Really_ bad idea. 

Noticing his distress, Kathy leant towards him out of range of the microphones and murmured, "Just picture them all naked." 

Which was completely the wrong thing to say because suddenly his x-ray vision was going on and oh _God_. 

Clark was pretty sure he'd just been scarred for life. 

Though who knew the Metropolis press had that many piercings? 

Snapping his eyes shut he turned his head away, and Kathy was blurting something into the microphones about him making a statement and then answering questions and then...oh. 

Silence. 

Opening his eyes Clark peered at Kathy who nodded encouragingly. And possibly desperately. 

This had been his idea, they were all here because of him, and it was time for him to take responsibility. Swallowing heavily, he faced the cameras. "Hello." So far, so good. Since thinking this up he'd given a lot of thought to what he was going to say, but he hadn't managed to figure out the specific words, just the general point he wanted to get across. Now that the moment was here, he still had no idea what he was going to say. "I'm Clark Kent. I've been in the news lately because someone said I'd been in a sexual relationship with Lex Luthor since I was fifteen years old. I arranged this today so I could state categorically that it's not true." Pausing, Clark really wanted to take a sip of water from the glass to one side but didn't trust himself to pick anything up. "It should be noted," all that time spent around Lex was definitely paying off, "that Lex doesn't know I'm doing this. Or he didn't know, until now." He could just imagine Lex seething in the penthouse, or maybe from a limousine if he'd managed to get the door open. 

Clark watched his own hand, horrified, as it lifted seemingly of its own will and waved at one of the cameras. "Hi, Lex!" That was on _film_ , he'd just been a huge dork on _live TV_. And he'd been doing so well... 

He cleared his throat. "Lex is my best friend, and it's true that we've been friends since I was fifteen, but nothing more. Until recently. Very recently. There was this party the other night, and..." He really had to remember not to get too specific with this stuff, even if he was nervous. "...something happened. Things changed. And it was most definitely mutual. Lex did not in any way take advantage of me at any time." It was definitely possible that the blush on his face was never going to leave, even when he died. Two thousand years from now they'd dig up his body and- Kathy was coughing lightly. 

Oh yeah. 

"I...I think that's it." He'd done pretty well; he'd managed to get this far by not actually focusing on anyone or anything other than that brief look at the camera. "I don't know how these things work, but I'm more than happy to make a statement to the police if it's necessary. And I'd just like to add that Lex is-" 

Something banged. Clark knew instantly that it was a door opening. 

**"CLARK!"**

"-really pissed." Pushing back, Clark stumbled up out of his chair and moved to stand on the other side of Kathy as Lex - oh wow, did he look angry - stomped towards them. "Hi, Lex." He grinned stupidly. 

"What do you think you are _doing_?" Lex demanded, ignoring everyone else as he poked Clark's chest. 

"Uh..." It seemed pretty obvious. Clark looked down at the finger. "Holding a press conference?" 

"Cameras, caaaameraaas," Kathy said under her breath as she smiled reassuringly at the press. 

Lex seemed to notice that, at least. Glancing around the room as if he was finally realising that it existed, he then turned back to Clark. "Clark, would you please join me outside?" 

Not right now, thank you. "Actually, I'm kind of busy right-" 

"Clark," Lex's teeth were gritted together, "if you value your relationship with me at _all_ , you will come outside with me right now." 

Oh, that was _mean_. Sticking his chin out, Clark brushed by him defiantly and strode out of the room. Lex was just moments behind. Kathy may have said something into the microphones but then Lex was clearing people out of the adjoining room, and the single remaining door closed with a resonating thud. 

Clark was sure that people without superpowers had actually been killed by the look Lex was giving him right now. 

"Would you mind," Lex began icily from several feet away, "explaining what you think you're doing?" 

Bristling, Clark folded his arms across his chest. "Telling the truth." 

"I see," Lex snapped back quickly. "And did you have to do this in a manner that was quite so...public?" 

Ridiculously, Clark hadn't even considered the fact that Lex might not want people to know. "Lex...if you didn't want the truth about us to come out-" 

"No," Lex interrupted, stepping closer, "it's not that. But you called a press conference, Clark. _You_. It's all well and good telling me not to protect you, but you do have to have _some_ discretion. Do you have any idea how much more attention you've just drawn to yourself?" 

Clark's nostrils flared. "I don't care." 

"Well you _should_ ," Lex argued. "Given how careless you seem to be about it, I presume there have been others who know about you?" 

Usually not intentionally, but... "Yeah." 

Clearly expecting that answer, Lex nodded smugly. Being patronised was really annoying. "And what if they come forward now? What if they see you making headlines and decide they want their piece of glory? Their ten minutes of fame, and damn what happens to you?" 

"Lex, they wouldn't-" 

"You don't know," Lex cut him off, "you can never know. Despite how well you may think you know someone, no matter how much you trust them, they could have been lying to you all this time." 

No. No. Lex was not turning this into something about that. "This isn't about you, Lex." Clark's bad mood was steadily becoming worse. Lex could be so...so...ugh! 

"Then what is it about?" he demanded, closer still. "Your complete inability to keep your mouth shut? The fact that you can't seem to go a single day without risking your secret?" He was building up to a good rant now, hands gesturing as he spoke. "Jesus, Clark, what were you thinking? Do you really have to be right all the time? Do you _have_ to save absolutely everyone from making the wrong choice? What about freewill? What about-?" 

Clark lost it, moving forward until he had Lex pressed up against the wall. "It's about the fact that I don't want you crossing that line for me. It's about the fact that I'd do anything to stop you becoming anything like your father because I know it's your greatest fear. It's about the fact that there's another way to do this. It's about the fact that I'm in LOVE with you, you IDIOT!" 

So, yeah. There was no way anyone in the next room hadn't heard that. There was no way anyone in the next building hadn't heard that. 

Lex, meanwhile, was doing a very good impression of a goldfish. At least he didn't look angry anymore. "You're...in love with me?" 

"God knows why," Clark grumped, annoyed that he was blushing. Stupid bald billionaires. 

"You're in love with me," Lex said. 

Geez. "Yes, we covered that alread-" Lex was looking at him very strangely. "Lex?" 

"Clark," he was grinning, practically giddy. It was...freaky. "You can be really dumb sometimes." 

Well it wasn't as if he was proud of that fact. "I-" 

"And sometimes you're the smartest person I've ever met," Lex said, reaching up to pull Clark in for a kiss. 

As Lex's mouth opened against his, Clark decided he could live with that. 

Lex pulled away, ruining a perfectly good moment. "But that doesn't mean I don't have a point." 

"Lex..." He just couldn't leave it alone. 

"You have to be more careful." 

Clark glowered. Okay, fine. He could be just as annoying. "And you have to be less obsessive-compulsive." 

Lex twitched. "I'll work on it." 

* * *

Epilogue 

* * *

They were alone. Finally. The press conference was over (they'd finished it together), Lex had dealt with all pressing matters, Kathy and the lawyers had been sent home, the broken door had been barricaded until Lex actually wanted someone to fix it (they really didn't want any interruptions right now), and Clark was ignoring all messages from his family, friends, and people at college who suddenly wanted to be his friends. 

They'd rutted mindlessly against each other on the bedroom floor at first, before they'd managed to move to the bed. Laying there now, sprawled against each other, Clark felt Lex shift. 

"Clark?" 

His hand liked gliding up and down the side of Lex's body. "Yeah?" Clark found a mole and licked it. 

Lex pretended he wasn't ticklish when they both knew better. "How did you do it? Melt the lock? Which, by the way, I had to explain to the others." 

Pulling back, Clark blew his hair out of his eyes and met Lex's gaze. "Heat vision. I have like these laser beams that come out of my eyes." 

Lex's eyes widened, and Clark couldn't help but notice that something else had started to harden. " _Seriously_?" 

Clark looked down at Lex's dick. "You're getting off on this!" 

"I am not," Lex insisted. "You just turn me on so much." 

Oh _that_ sounded convincing. Lowering himself further over Lex's body, Clark spoke again. "I'm fast, which you already knew. And I'm strong. Really strong. I have no problem even lifting up a tractor." Oh yeah, Lex was _definitely_ liking this. Clark moved on top of him, but only very slowly. "Almost nothing hurts me. Bullets don't." His mouth moved to Lex's ear. "Your car didn't." Lex jerked. "I can see through things," Clark whispered. "I could tell you right now exactly what the inside of your sock drawer looks like, but I'm busy at the moment. And one day," definitely more moving in order now; Clark had really grown fond of this thrusting thing, "I think," oh, that felt good, "I'm definitely going to," Lex clutched at his shoulders, "fly." 

Shuddering, Lex came croaking Clark's name. It didn't take much more for Clark to follow after him, shaking and groaning, and yeah, he really wanted a lot more of this. 

Sticky and sweaty, Clark had no intention of moving until Lex told him to. 

"I knew we had a destiny," Lex mumbled. 

"Why's that?" Clark asked, kissing behind his ear. 

Lex's smile was sleepy and satisfied. "I flew the first day I met you." 

Chuckling, Clark eventually moved to one side when Lex elbowed him in the stomach and contemplated his life. In the space of the last five days he'd dated his best friend, had sex with him, realised he was gay, and then announced it on national television. 

Chloe was right, he thought, as he snuggled closer to Lex. He really _didn't_ do anything small. 

And all things considered, he owed Rebecca a drink. 

**~FINIS**


End file.
